Subways, routinely places solely for the non-disabled, are the "best symbolic places to start voicing opinions on an issue and to start the struggle for equality,” declared Park Kyeong Seok, the head of Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD). Starting from November 3, 2021 — World Disability Day — SADD began its subway protests in Seoul’s main metro stations to put pressure on the government to make public transportation easily accessible for the disabled. A group of SADD members delayed the subways by blocking the platform doors and by occupying a train to stop commuters from entering, to get their point across to the public. The voices demanding respect for the disabled must be heard; however, concerns about the legitimacy of their protest methods continue to stir controversy.

Back to the incident in January 2001 when a vertical wheelchair lift broke apart, resulting in a traumatic consequence for a couple in their 70s, SADD was established to demand easily accessible transportation for the disabled. However, in recent days, there were frequent run-ins and violent altercations between the Seoul Police and the activists. According to Seoul Metro, SADD staged 462 protests from 2021 to the end of 2023, causing a total loss of 780 million South Korean Won (KRW), as well as over 86 hours and 33 minutes of total delays, leading to growing impatience among commuters.

Navigating the Complexities of SADD’s Protests

In December 2022, Oh Se-hoon, the former mayor of Seoul, described during a press conference that SADD’s previous protests in Samgakji and the City Hall station were a type of social terrorism. “I don’t think SADD members are socially underprivileged,” Oh said. “Rather, citizens who suffer irreversible losses due to unexpected subway operation delays are the victims.” He emphasized the need to “seek every charge against them under both civil and criminal laws,” noting that there should be no tolerance towards protests violating the rights of the residents. However, the continuous protests have deeper historical roots, with society’s ignorant attitudes towards their safety. Due to a lack of low-floor buses and elevators in subway stations, the disabled have had no choice but to take specialized means of transportation that are limited in availability. The difficulty in moving freely inevitably is a violation of fundamental human rights — the right to be educated, or the right to receive treatment when ill — of the disabled.

SADD’s demands, evident from their pickets on subways, include enacting laws for disabled education, providing housing for the disabled, and ensuring mobility for those in wheelchairs. “Their ultimate desire is straightforward – to be guaranteed their rights to move around freely, and to make sure their disabilities do not turn into a handicap in society,” said Professor Kim Yun Min (Department of Social Welfare, Changwon University) in an interview with The Granite Tower (GT). “It should be noted that with Korea far behind the OECD average welfare spending, the failure to expand welfare will not merely result in inconvenience but will ultimately take away someone’s life.” However, as per The Korea Times, the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s decision to raise the budget by only 0.8 percent of their original request led Park to proclaim a continuation of war against the government in December 2022. “It is still questionable whether the government is sincerely making progress to improve the lives of the weakest,” said Professor Kim. She added that people’s understanding of otherness is shortsighted and given that a high portion of disability comes with old age, people should take this matter to be one that concerns Korean society.

Path to Reconciliation

Divergent views exist regarding the rationale for these protests in subways. Some state that the subway protests are a legitimate means of making a statement, particularly given the administration’s historically stalwart unwillingness to implement changes. In addition, they hold in high regard the previous changes that SADD has brought to the world, such as making sure that over 90 percent of Korean metro stations have elevators, as reported by The Nation. Nevertheless, due to the continuous infringements of fundamental human dignity in getting through daily life, there is still room for improvement to ensure the safety of the disabled when utilizing public forms of transit, which may be a valid cause to continue public demonstrations. “The disabled have long been fighting for their voices to be heard, but they never were,” Professor Kim said. “I once met an activist with disabilities, and he told me that no one would pay attention to them if they do not cause inconvenience in someone else’s life.”

On the other hand, those disrupted by these protests on the route to work expressed strong opposition to SADD, deeming them a form of social terrorism. Kim Jimin, a lab student at Eulji University, expressed her concerns about how their methods of expressing their demands have grown to be a serious abuse of commuters’ rights. “They must respect us, as much as I respect them. Every time SADD gets involved, the rush hours turn into the worst possible nightmare,” she said, stressing the urgency for the protests to come to a halt.

Though interest groups have contrasting views, there exist ways for Korean society to step forward from the current impasse; as Professor Kim highlighted, this all begins with the significance of “understanding.” She quoted a famous saying of Zygmunt Bauman — “The carrying power of a bridge is not the average strength of the pillars, but the strength of the weakest pillar” — and continued by saying that “understanding the needs of the weakest leads to solidity of society and we should not regard them as others.”

When it comes to SADD’s subway protests, conflicting opinions collide; thus, this year’s main objectives should be on enhancing communication with diverse interest groups. Although there awaits dragons in the path to reconciliation, the dangers are worth overcoming for the future where disability will no longer be a handicap in society. With the decision to utilize the power of communication, eventually reaching conclusions that consider both stances, Korean society aspires to create a world in which everyone’s rights are upheld.